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While We Still Have Time

In spite of the grimness of the times in which we live, there is still hope. If you feel, like I do, that the usual discourse about matters of critical concern tends to be superficial, misguided, and false, then you might find some solace and inspiration here. I will try to offer insight and a holistic perspective on events and issues, and hopefully serve as a catalyst for raising the level of dialogue on this planet.

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Location: Madison, Wisconsin, United States

I was born in 1945, shortly before atom bombs were dropped on Japan. I served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1971. I earned master's degrees in Economics and Educational Psychology, and certificates in Web Page Design and as a Teacher of English as a Second Language. I followed an Indian guru for eight years, which immersed me in meditative practices and an attitude of reaching a higher level of being. A blog post listing the meditative practices I have pursued can be seen here.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

To have dominion

I will write about this more when I have more time, but I would like to at least raise the subject of one of the most prominent characteristics of American culture and American history - that of the need for primacy, for control, for dominion over others. This need is not in any sense normal or ordinary, but a pathological need, borne out of an insecurity that is also at the root of the nation's history.

This land was settled by people desperate for a new life, and a great many died in the effort just to reach the shores of "The New World." The precariousness of life was faced by great effort, but also by a history of eliminating any perceived threat to persons' or society's survival: indigenous tribes, alien religious beliefs, unruly slaves, disease, cold, economic instability.

What is being played out in Iraq and at home is an at times hysterical need to have dominion over others. It isn't enough in Iraq to invade the country and destroy its infrastructure. The people must be subjugated. Thus, a massive terror campaign of bombing, pillaging of cities like Fallujah and Najaf, and more to come.

Here at home, we have the Bush "mandate." Bush and his cronies in the Congress, the Judiciary, the various bureaus of government, and the corporate power structure will likely try to enact a police state along with a movement towards some form of economic feudalism. The main problem they face is that their agenda is spent. They can only hope that the power of propaganda will be great enough to push their plans through. This will be increasingly difficult, due to what I call the decreasing marginal returns to criminality. It will take bigger lies, bigger secrecy, bigger sleight-of-hand, and bigger religious flim-flammery to achieve smaller results. As Global Warming becomes more serious, it will take bigger denial to pretend it does not exist. As the symbiosis with phony "Christianity" intensifies, it will take bigger and more grandiose bluster to sell the latest schemes. Maybe they can bring in Reverend Moon himself to be the "Messiah." Though this criminal gang is not going to be fun, fun may be had as they head to their inevitable downfall.

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